Handy FX Whiteout Fuzz

The Handy FX Whiteout Fuzz is a fuzz pedal from Handy FX, a small builder whose pedals are hand wired in New Hampshire. Pedal of the Day describes it as a Fuzz Face circuit with BC-183 silicon transistors and a couple of twists, covering everything from light distortion to what the reviewer called "face-melting crunchy explosions" in between¹.

What it does

The Whiteout takes the classic Fuzz Face layout, a two-transistor fuzz design, and builds it with BC-183 silicon transistors. Silicon transistors generally give a fuzz a firmer, more consistent character than the germanium parts used in the earliest Fuzz Face pedals, and the Whiteout adds external controls that the original design did not have¹.

The standout control is the Bias knob. It adjusts the voltage of the second transistor, which does two useful jobs: it can compensate for a weak battery, and it can be backed off for spitty, gated fuzz action. Together with the Pregain knob, the pedal holds what Pedal of the Day describes as "a myriad of sonic flavors in just four parameters," each producing its own brand of gnarly, amp-crushing distortion¹.

What reviewers said

Pedal of the Day reviewed the Whiteout Fuzz in February 2022 and came away favorably, particularly on value²¹:

Handy FX describes the Whiteout as a Fuzz Face circuit built with BC-183 silicon transistors, with a couple of twists of its own¹. Players weighing it against other dirt pedals may also want to look at distortion pedals and overdrive pedals for tighter, less open-ended styles of grit.

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